SR 51(2) 12-17.Pdf

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Over indulgence in junk food could destroy your health. Watch what you eat because you are the custodian of your own health.

URING a recent sojourn to a facie, the product seemed to be liked by Junk or Healthy? Dshopping mall, I was intercepted the younger crowd, school going children In recent years, the number of ready-made (albeit politely), by a young person who and teenagers, whose family ate out two food products and processed foods and thrust a bowl of a crunchy food product or more times every week and seemed to drinks that are available and consumed at me and asked my opinion of the taste. I belong to the higher income bracket. has increased manifold. If you would was then asked to fill out a questionnaire Who can be immune to such studied merely question your own family about regarding my personal preferences of wooing and media hype? It was an their favourite foods, the chances are that food, the number of times our family ate interesting phenomenon, the peddling the younger generation will often prefer out every month, and baffling to me at the of a fast food by an acclaimed food pizza, burger, French fries, ready-to-eat time, my income and the car I drove! manufacturer slickly marketed to an noodles, etc. over a snack made at home. A little ahead, I walked into a crowd, eager audience....none of whom seemed While the older generation that may not which was waiting for freebies of the to be asking the most vital question.... have been exposed to these Western junk product. Further ahead, a huge cut-out What am I eating – junk or healthy food? food varieties earlier, end up eating these of a celebrity loomed large, holding the on family outings, due to the insistence of product close to his open oral orifice, children, with a dash of chholey bhaturey presumably, claiming to snack on this thrown in. food. The aggressive marketing, fast I hung back, listening to the service, and pleasant surroundings in which questionnaire-toting youngster, trying they are served make these irresistible for to gauge the replies being given. Prima modern urban families. At home, we now

SCIENCE REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2014 12 COVER STORY UJWALA KARMARKAR

prefer these readily-available and tasty flour or fat. In addition to foods and However, the general misconception snacks (which are junk-food) because drinks with a lot of added sugar, it is that only Western food is junk is an old they are relatively cheap, popular with important to keep in mind that junk food wives’ tale. We have plenty of junk food family members and have a long shelf can include foods high in salt or artificial among our ethnic repertoire. Given the life. Moreover, they require little or no additives such as monosodium glutamate cultural and culinary diversity of India, preparation, are convenient to consume and colouring agents. it is difficult to pinpoint the “bad-guys” and have lots of flavour. in their entirety. By and large, the Indian But what exactly is junk food? What are the Junk Culprits? junk-foods are: Believed to have been coined in the 1970s • Hamburgers and cheeseburgers, tacos, • Samosa, batata-wada, bhajia, bonda, by Michael Jacobson, an American scientist potato chips, french fries, fried chicken puri, bhatura (fried foods) and nutritional advocate and also director nuggets, nachos, salted chips • All types of chaat-golgappas, sev puri, of the Centre for Science in the Public • Gum, candy, most desserts, doughnuts, bhel-puri Interest, this term encompasses many ice creams, pastries, certain breakfast • Sweets such as laddoos, halwa, gulab- foods. But broadly, this derisive term is cereals jamun, jalebi used for foods that are high in calories, but • Milk shakes, carbonated beverages • Farsan items such as sev, chakli, bhujia, poor in nutritional content such as essential • Chicken pieces (fried nuggets or strips) papad, etc. vitamins, fibre, minerals, proteins, etc. • Submarine sandwich A new research has found that Typically, this is a food with lots of • Pizza slices (high in fat, especially with Western food is a lesser evil than the added refined sugar, sodium, refined extra cheese and meat toppings) Indian bhatura or parathas. While the

Obesity among children has risen from 9.8% to 12% in just three years, according to surveys conducted by the government and other agencies.

1313 SCIENCESCSCISC ENCEENNNCERE RREPORTER,EPOEPOORRTRTETTEERR,, FFEBFEFEBRUARYEBEBRRURUAUUAARYRY 220201401414 COVER STORY JUNK… We need to watch what A food is Junk: we eat because we are • if it has more than 35% of calories the custodians of our from fat (except for low-fat milk) own health. • if it has trans fats (par ally or “soul-food” to eat when we hydrogenated fats) need to feel good about ourselves. • if saturated fats are more than 10% Unfortunately, most of the time, this is junk-food. • if more than 35% of calories come “No-one can eat just one” is a from sugar, unless it is made with common advertising slogan used 100% fruit and no added sugar (many for these foods. And, it is true. juice-cartons do not men on this) Junk food eating creates a powerful psychological and physiological • if it has more than 200 calories per stranglehold on us. serving for snacks Junk food is made with complex • if it has more than 200 mg per researched formulae – with the aim of serving of sodium (salt) for snacks producing just enough taste, so that it lures the brain into enjoying the aroma • if one of the fi rst two ingredients is and the feel in the mouth. It piques the either oil or a form of sugar taste-buds, so that while the eater does feel the ‘kick’ of eating, he/she does not amount of dopamine release reduces with feel the satiety needed to stop. That is continuous consumption of junk food, Most important: Note the size of the the reason junk-food is often eaten by as the brain is now used to the amount serving men oned and size of the the packetfuls. The food industry calls of junk food consumed and dopamine packet – for example a single serving this ‘sensory-specific satiety’. Producing released. So, after a while the junk food junkie needs more of these foods to (100 gm) may have 100 mg of sodium this ensures that their products are eaten in large quantities over and over again, produce the same feeling of pleasure. chloride and you may have bought a thereby keeping their business booming. This results in producing a cyclical feeling packet of 200 gm thereby consuming of more consumption and tolerance, a behaviour that is seen in heroin and double the quan ty. Biochemical Basis of Junk Food Addiction cocaine addicts. When the junk food Researchers have realized that junk food consumption is stopped, the person trans-fatty acid (hydrogenated oils and produces an addiction, which is similar becomes anxious, restless, has mood fats) in French fries (per100 gm) is 4.2%- to that seen in heroin and cocaine addicts. swings, and is depressed. 6.1%, it is 9.5% in bhatura, 7.8% in paratha Rats fed on junk foods exhibited addictive and 7.6% each in puri and tikkis. behaviour similar to that of cocaine Why is Junk Food Harmful? These findings were presented at addicts. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter Junk food affects health in the following a conference in 2007 on “Fats and trans- associated with feeling of pleasure was ways: fatty acids in Indian diet” at the Seventh released in their brain. The rats quickly Lethargy: The high proportion of sugar Health Writers Workshop organised by put on weight and became listless. Their in these foods means that it is rapidly Health Essayists and Authors League response to pain stimuli was dulled and absorbed into the blood stream and (HEAL) by Anoop Misra, director they became anxious and restless when produces a sugar-high, so that there is and head, department of diabetes and the junk-foods were stopped (typical an initial feeling of energy. This soon metabolic diseases at the Fortis Group of addictive symptoms). crashes creating lethargy, drowsiness and Hospitals. A similar result is seen in humans. feeling of low-energy, leading the eater to The person affected is so hooked to this becoming inactive and sleepy. Junk Food Addiction pleasurable feeling that he/she continues Food is a great physical need that is to eat these foods. Soon, the sight, smell Obesity: Junk food is the most common present at all times of our life. But it also and memory of these foods will create cause of obesity due to the fats (oil and satisfies a psychological need in us. We eat a yearning similar to those in addicts, butter), processed contents, sugar, refined when we are happy—from the candy that producing a behaviour that results in flour, etc. contained in it. Twenty-six per we receive as gifts for good behaviour as a repeatedly buying and consuming these cent of Americans are obese, largely due child to the sweets that we eat to celebrate foods. Interestingly, this phenomenon to junk food consumption and lack of a happy event. is seen not only in obese individuals, exercise. Obesity among children in India But, food is a great emotional but also in fit persons who have obese has risen from 9.8 per cent to 12 per cent stimulus in sad times as well. Binge parents. in just three years, according to surveys eating when sad or stressful is common. Moreover, a tolerance to these foods conducted by the government and other We all have our favourite “comfort food” develops over time. This means that the aided agencies.

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DID YOU KNOW… • Corn dextrin, a common thickener used in junk food, is also the glue on envelopes and postage stamps. • Alloxen, a by-product of bleaching white fl our, which is o en found in junk food, was found to lead to diabetes in healthy experimental animals by destroying their pancrea c beta cells. • Cellulose gum, the agent that gives certain packaged desserts their smooth feel, is also used in rocket fuel to give a slightly gela nous quality. • Food manufacturers now spend nearly twice as much money on adver sing their (breakfast) cereals, as they do on the ingredients that go into them. Almost 80% of food commercials aired on Saturday morning children shows are for junk food. • Addi ves and preserva ves such as common food dyes and sodium benzoate can cause children to become more hyperac ve and easily distracted than usual. High sugar foods taken in childhood are implicated in violent behaviour in adulthood. • Although breakfast cereals are not supposed to contain over 15% sugars, research has found that most of them contain thrice as much.

Poor Nutrition and Immunity: Junk food also had higher triglycerides, cholesterol, has little or no nutrients such as vitamins, higher sugar level and higher insulin proteins, minerals, etc. This lack in the levels. diet, over a period of time will make the This research supports the findings junk food eaters malnourished, leaving in humans. Mothers, who eat primarily them open to infection due to a weak junk food while pregnant or breast- immune system. feeding, have children who are more likely to crave junk food from childhood Lifestyle Diseases: The high fat, sugar itself. These children are prone to obesity and sodium diet increases the chances throughout life and also at higher risk of of raised cholesterol, heart disease, high developing high cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension early in life. blood pressure, diabetes and that too at Here’s what one should do to beat a younger age. A recent study showed the habit: that 7% of children in Delhi schools had Intelligence-Quotient: Researchers at Bristol University Dr. Pauline Emmett hypertension. Shop smart: The habit of reading and Dr. Kate Northstone, who conducted nutrition labels on the packet is time- a study of 14,000 children and the effect consuming, but ultimately rewarding. Fertility: Young women who eat a junk of diet on I.Q., found that a junk-food diet Stock your kitchen and refrigerator with food diet are at a higher risk of developing before the age of three (the crucial period healthy snacks and drinks. If you do Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), for brain development) can reduce I.Q. by need to buy junk-food, buy packs with affecting their fertility, also causing as much as five points. They also said the smaller portions/servings, to reduce hairiness and acne. Men who regularly effect of a poor diet on brain development consumption. eat junk food had a 43% lower sperm could persist forever, even if the diet count and 38% lower sperm concentration improved. compared to men who eat healthy. Start with your home and family: Healthy eating habits are better cultivated Sleep Deprivation: A study by Greer as a family. Freshly cooked food at home, Unborn Baby: New research has raised the and Goldstein at Berkeley University, eaten together at fixed times is better than bar for eating right during pregnancy. A where 23 young men were studied after the same food served outside. Motivate component of junk food called acrylamide, sleep deprivation with MRI scans, found found mostly in chips, according to that the part of the brain (frontal lobe) research by Dr Laura Hardie, molecular associated with complex decision making epidemiologist at the University of Leeds, had impaired activity. The subjects has been linked to reduced birth weight reached for junk foods over healthy of babies and lower head circumference foods. Sleep deprivation can result in junk (and delayed neurodevelopment). Junk food binges and after prolonged sleep food is also associated with increased risk deprivation can trigger cycles of eating of miscarriage. resulting in obesity. In a study conducted by Dr. Stephanie Bayol and Prof. Neil Strickland at the Deaddiction Royal Veterinary College in London, rats Strictly speaking, junk food is one of the fed on a diet of junk food when pregnant, poisons we are all inflicting on ourselves. were found to have babies who crave It is right up there among the addictions, junk food over healthy food and are more with smoking, drinking alcohol and drugs lethargic and obese as compared to the as one of the most modern addictive control group. The junk-food baby rats substances. 15 SCIENCE REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2014 COVER STORY

HISTORY OF SOME POPULAR JUNK FOODS Hamburger: It was the nomadic people, anything to do with France or if French fries a potato. Both words batata and potato the Tartars, who made the hamburger originated in America. have their origin in Spanish patata. Pav popular. The Tartars founded the world’s One opinion for the origin of French refers to bread (or bun), the Marathi word oldest chain of hamburger restaurants in fries is that in cooking terminology, having its origin in Portuguese pão. Vada 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. frenching means to cut food in lengthwise pav was supposedly devised by snack A er World War II, the strips. This is why you have French-cut vendor Ashok Vaidya outside Dadar sta on hamburger became very green beans and it is the same thing with in 1971. popular in the United French fries made from potatoes. The States as the main other opinion is that Thomas Jeff erson Laddu: Comes menu item at drive- brought the fried potato to America a/ er from the in restaurants which enjoying the dish in Paris. While there is no Sanskrit word increased as cars became dispute that the French fry is an American transliterated more popular. McDonald’s, which started inven on, those that hold with this opinion as ladduka or as a hamburger stand in San Bernardino, believe that the French fry was named laG ka meaning California, has spread the hamburger a er the country where Jeff erson found a small ball. around the world. The world’s largest fried potatoes. Common fl ours restaurant chain, with more than 26,000 used for laddu restaurants in 119 countries, has served Vada-Pav: Some mes spelled wada Include besan (chickpea fl our), rava (wheat billions of hamburgers. pav, is a popular vegetarian fast food dish semolina) and ground coconut. These are na ve to the Indian state of Maharashtra. combined with sugar and other fl avorings, French Fries: A popular accompaniment It consists of a batata vada sandwiched cooked in ghee and moulded into a ball for the hamburger between two slices of a pav. The compound shape. is French fries. word batata Although French fries vada refers Doughnuts: Most likely originated in are quite common in in Marathi Germany and were brought to New York restaurants in France, to a vada by Dutch seC lers who called them olykoeks where they are called made out (oily cakes). The hole in the center was pommes frites, the of batata, developed by the Pennsylvania Dutch debate is whether the laC er perhaps because the shape provided the culinary term has referring to easier dunking in coff ee or made it easier

JUNK FOOD, term coined in the 1970s by Michael Jacobson, an American scientist, encompasses many foods. But broadly, this derisive term is used for foods that are high in calories, but poor in nutritional content. others in your family to help you kick the One day at a time: Often we fall off habit by avoiding doing anything that the wagon due to setting ourselves would weaken your resolve. impossible goals. An occasional eat-out at a junk-food joint may be justified to Regulate what your child is exposed to: prevent a binge at a later date. A catchy jingle, a free gift, a favourite Legislation cartoon character or celebrity in an Just like the tobacco and alcohol industry advertisement and children are fascinated before it, the junk food lobby too is a by a food. Advertising to very young powerful one. Powered by its profits, it is children is a powerful tool to increase sales attempting to slow down legislation that of these foods. Studies show that children will ban junk food sales in schools and a younger than eight years cannot grasp the radius of 50 m around them. A PIL filed difference between a programme and an by an NGO, the Uday Foundation for advertisement. Educate your child about this legislation is tangled in technicalities, what she/he is seeing. such as the eligibility of the 14-member fact-finding committee appointed by Motivate the community: Schools the Health Ministry (composed of food that serve unhealthy foods and other specialists, nutritionists, health experts parents who give out unhealthy snacks and food industry representatives). Also to your children repeatedly, can be under discussion are the role of the Food gently reminded about healthy eating. Safety and Standards of India in the Legislation in our country in this regard matter and old laws that do not quantify is on the way. the definition of junk-food. SCIENCE REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2014 16 COVER STORY

to fry the donuts more thoroughly. Dunkin Donuts sells 6.4 million donuts per day (2.3 billion per year).

Samosa: This crisp, stuff ed, fried triangle was known to India since the 1300s and fi nds men on in the musings of Amir Khusrau, chronicles of Ibn-Batuta and even the Ain-i- Akbari. Arab cook- In Western countries, junk food The peddling of a fast books from the eating is seen excessively in the lower tenth century refer socio-economic groups. The educated and food by an acclaimed to the sanbusak upper classes have the time, means and food manufacturer slickly (the pronuncia on opportunity to eat healthy and exercise in s ll current in the gym as well. In our country, the trend marketed to an eager Egypt, Syria, and of healthy eating is more in the higher audience....none of whom Lebanon), sanbusaq classes with the means to eat these foods, or sanbusaj, from although the low pricing of these foods seemed to be asking the where it travelled to Hindustan. Modern means that the others are catching up. samosas are stuff ed with potatoes, Although the food industry (like most vital question....What mincemeat or vegetables. the tobacco, gutkha and alcohol industry before them) knows the ill-effects of what am I eating – junk or it is producing, these firms are all profit- healthy food? As the review petition filed by based and are almost never affected by fast-food giants delays this important public concerns. When the media raises a So, the moral of the story is: As long legislation, it is enlightening to know that hue and cry about, say, the trans fats or the as we are faced with a barrage of junk- European and North American countries sodium content of a certain brand of food, food, we need to watch what we eat have already banned these foods from the directors of the concerned company because we are the custodians of our own schools nearly eight years ago. Moreover, go into a huddle and a few weeks later, health. According to the World Health the advertising of fast-foods on television announce the ‘low-salt’ version or the Organization, India along with the other is also restricted or banned or needs a ‘baked’ version of these foods. These are BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, and China) rider that points out that the content then touted as the next best thing with currently loses more than 20 million is advertising – much like alcohol and a storm of advertising gimmicks and productive life-years annually to chronic tobacco ads. hardly any independent analysis to back diseases, and that number is expected them up. to grow to 65% by 2030. Obesity among Does One Stop Eating Junk What is particularly galling is children has risen from 9.8% to 12% in Altogether? that fitness conscious film-stars and just three years, according to surveys Consuming such foods usually does not sportspersons endorse the junk foods conducted by the government and other pose any immediate health concerns and leading the naïve public to actually agencies. is generally safe when integrated into a continue to eat them. The truth is that, So let’s think twice before we open well-balanced diet. It is not necessary to these endorsers perhaps only eat that that pack of chips or samosas and dip into avoid junk- solitary chip needed to shoot the ad and it or perhaps, even offer it to someone. food all the later would not even touch it with a barge time, but to pole. In some countries, celebrities are moderate the banned from promoting unhealthy foods. Dr. Ujwala Karmarkar is a Consultant consumption Where is the consciousness and Anaesthesiologist at the Dhanvantari Hospital according to morality expected of public figures in & Rahaeja Hospital, Mumbai. Address: 111- one’s weight, India, who are almost worshipped and A, Aradhana, G.D. Ambekar Marg, Next to activity and followed blindly by millions? Probably Spring-mills, Dadar, Mumbai-400028; Email: health. buried under piles of moolah! [email protected] 17 SCIENCE REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2014